Exalted By You
by M.L. Groves
Summary: She once sailed across the sea to pray for a Hero. Once, she thought she'd never find her way home again. Now, she's home and doesn't know if she can ever return to what life once was. A returning Komali/Medli story. Post Windwaker.


**Exalted By You**

_Continuing a Komali and Medli Story_

_Sequel of "Missing You."_

_By: M.L. Groves  
_

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_**The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker and all its characters do not belong to me.**_

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It had all started with a surprise visit to Dragon Roost Island and ended in reuniting two friends that had desperately missed each other. For most, their story could be considered over or that it had only just begun. If anyone asked The Hero of Winds, he would have told you that it was merely a continuation that was a long time in coming. Five months had passed since Medli had returned to her island and Link had yet to receive word about Komali's coronation. The event had been canceled when the Rito Prince had flown the expanse of the Great Sea just to see Medli when she was wounded. Link had already been invited as a valued guest to attend, but he was starting to get impatient. Originally, he and Tetra's pirates had taken a break from their search for a new Hyrule and were now anxious to start again. Link was not sure if they could hold off their search for much longer.

"I know you promised," Tetra had told him the other day, eyes resolute, "But we can't wait for them to get their act together forever. We have things to do!"

"I know," He had replied. Link sighed at the memory and shook his head. Things would get complicated if he was forced to leave before the Coronation. He hated to break his promises, but all this waiting was getting ridiculous. Maybe they should have visited Dragon Roost themselves and helped with the preparations.

"Hah, Tetra would never go for that," He chuckled to himself as he pulled the rudder on his boat, The King of Red Lions. To pass the time, the Pirate Captain had been chasing down every sea and treasure chart she could get her hands on and he was currently fishing for a treasure from one such chart.

"Your boat is perfectly for retrieval!" He remembered her saying that morning, "Especially with that grappling hook, so no complaining!"

Link was starting to wonder if Tetra was getting lazy. He thought better than to ask her. Instead, he had agreed, if only for some time alone on his ship and had begun pulling up rocks and seaweed all day just to find a treasure chest. It had become so hot that he was forced to take his green tunic off and work in just his thick pants.

It was a little lonely though he had to admit. Once upon a time, he could have passed the hours with idle conversation between him and the spirit locked inside his tiny boat, but now it was silent: empty. Every so often he wished that Tetra or one of her crew would offer to join him, but they had their own duties to attend to. He sighed again.

The boat dipped and he felt his lungs practically jump into his throat. He immediately grasped the rope of his grappling hook that had suddenly gone taut and quickly started pulling it up. It was far heavier than the other times he had worked that day and he hoped for his own sake that it wasn't another boulder.

"Please be the treasure, please, please, please!" He begged under his breath, grunting as he pulled. Finally, after what felt like forever, the object came above the surface and he let out an excited whoop of joy. Another treasure chart fulfilled! He pulled on the rope and led the dripping chest over The King of Red Lions and set it down slowly. The small boat was sturdy, but with big hunks of iron like this, Link didn't want to take any chances. Once it had been safely placed, the hero of winds cracked his fingers and prepared to force the case open.

He felt a heat and a vibration in his pants pocket instead when a bossy voice exclaimed, "Oye! Link, did you find anything yet or are you daydreaming?" Most people would be concerned by the prospect of their pants suddenly talking to them, but Link just shook his head and calmly took the blue gossip stone out of his trousers.

"You caught me daydreaming," He said, melodramatically. "I was dreaming of the contents inside this chest I just found." The sound that resounded from the stone revealed that Tetra was not amused. Thankfully, her lack of amusement was Link's entertainment so he held no regrets for his sarcasm.

"That… is not funny." Her voice came across thin and tight. Link could imagine her eyes narrowed and her hands on her hips, just glaring into her stone. He was slightly disappointed that he wasn't there to see it. "So, what's in it?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?!"

"Like I said, I haven't opened it yet."

"Well OPEN it already!" He winced at her shout.

"I'm working on it." He said calmly before setting the stone down. Link heard her huff lightly, but ignored her to work on opening the chest instead. It had been stuck in the sea for so long; he wasn't entirely sure how easy it would be to pop the case. He was positive that it would take some time and he was well prepared for the exertion it would cause. With the edge of his boomerang he forced the lip of the chest open with a loud pop that sent leftover seawater pouring into the boat. Link ignored this he was used to that happening every now and then. He placed his boomerang next to the gossip stone and quickly used the strength in his arms to force the lid off the top.

Smiling as he looked inside, Link quickly fished the contents out of the chest and spoke loud enough for the gossip stone to catch his voice and send it back to Tetra who had still been grumbling. "Well it looks like we're in luck, I've found us a good amount of Rupees in here, are you satisfied now Tetra?" His voice may have been sarcastic, but he was quite happy with this development and was certain she would be too.

Or she would have been if she had actually heard him. The blue stone remained silent. It didn't even glow as it would when she was preparing to answer back to him. He picked the stone back up and tapped it lightly. "Hey, did you hear me, Tetra?" When there was still no response, his tapping became more persistent. "Oi! Tetra, did you start ignoring me? Tetra?" Frowning, he smacked the stone against the wooden seat and grunted in mild annoyance. If she had stopped paying attention after contacting him so rudely, he was definitely going to be keeping most of the Rupees for himself. Perhaps he'd share most with the crew and buy himself a new tunic…

A part of him realized that under normal circumstances, he'd still be willing to share considering that as a captain she could easily get distracted by other duties. Link supposed he was starting to pick up some of her habits now that he'd been traveling with her more recently. Though, as more silence from the stone greeted him and the sounds of the waves overtook most of his senses, he began to feel anxious. Nothing had happened to her right? He spun to look back towards the large Pirate Ship a little ways from his location and narrowed his eyes. Everything looked okay from his standpoint, but… why wasn't she….?

Worried, Link closed the chest once more and raised the sail. If the wind hadn't already been in his favor, he would have been willing to even use his Windwaker at this point. "Damnit Tetra, answer me already, is everything all right?!" With a thudding heart he began the trek back to the ship, more than willing to scale it if he'd have to. He distracted himself to such a degree that he almost didn't lower the sail in time to stop himself from crashing into the side of the gigantic, red ship of the Pirates, but he couldn't bring himself to be concerned about that minor error on his part. His mind was too busy coming up with every reason imaginable towards Tetra's silence.

Had moboblins climbed aboard? Were they being attacked by Kogoroks? He was even willing to think that one of the crew (Niko perhaps) had accidentally set the cannon off though he'd never heard that to support the thought, it still worried him. Aggravated by his own thoughts he quickly grasped the sides of the ship when he came close and climbed aboard as fast as his legs and arms could take him. If something was wrong he'd make sure to stop it fast, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that. Once his fingers reached the gated side of the ship he hoisted himself over and immediately scanned the area.

"Tetra where are you? Is everything o-…kay?" His voice died off as all the color drained from his face. Across the expanse of the ship was the Pirate crew, going about the day as if everything was normal, not a worry on their faces as some whistled and others hummed. The lookout stared down below at him with a perplexed expression and Link had to fight back the urge to blush when all the color returned. His eyes were trained on helm, where Tetra stood, healthy as ever, perfectly safe.

Good goddesses above, that woman was going to be the death of him. Sighing in relief, he shook his head. He was about to finish climbing aboard and reprimand her, but froze in place when he noticed the familiar form of a Rito standing off to the side of her. Quil, one of the many mail carriers of the Rito was holding a letter out to the blonde pirate captain and seemed in a comfortable conversation with her. Was that why she had stopped responding to him? Curious, he made his way towards them.

"So she's doin' alright? That's good t'hear." Tetra didn't seem to notice him coming up, but was nodding her head to Quil with an ease to her shoulders that Link wasn't expecting. She was usually tense when visitors around, trying to appear touch and in charge so no one would assume herself to be weak. He would have guessed her relaxed shoulders came from their trust in Quil, but Link wasn't sure that would be the case.

"She will be happy to see you and Link again, I'm certain," The mailman seemed pleased with their conversation, but noticed Link just as he climbed the latter to the helm. "Speaking of which, it has been awhile, young Link, how are things?"

Tetra turned to look at him surprised, "What are you doing here? Weren't you checking in on that chest?"

Link glanced at her for only a moment before he smiled brightly towards his dear friend. "Pretty good, Quil. You've been keeping care of yourself too, right?"

"Well naturally."

"That's good." Feeling the pirate glaring at him, he finally turned his gaze back to Tetra and gave her a pointed stare. "Someone wasn't responding to me when I was speaking to her. I figured I'd just tell you the contents in the chest when I returned."

She faltered sheepishly for a few seconds and muttered under her breath, "Oh, right. Well, we best check on that soon…" It seemed that matter would be closed for now, but Quil suddenly seemed quite amused and chuckled at him instead.

"My dear Pirate Captain, I thought you would have realized that what he actually meant to say is that he was worried for you. Apparently, the thought never crossed his mind that a mere postman had come to visit. Can't you see how he's slightly out of breath?" Link wasn't sure who to glare at, the Pirate that had suddenly reddened and shot him an incredulous look, or the very Postman who was smirking at them.

"I've said my piece, and I'm sticking to it." Link said stubbornly, ignoring the fact his ears were burning. "Did you have news for us Quil?" Tetra grumbled something under his breath, but Link didn't catch it. Instead, he focused on the Rito who nodded his head in affirmation.

"I've come with a letter, of course." He said while pulling the said envelope out from his mail bag. "Komali and Medli both send their regards as well." He nodded again when Link accepted the letter wordlessly. "I'm sure, like our pretty captain here," He ignored Tetra's sudden complaint at his word choice and continued, "that you have plenty of questions to ask me, but I'll let that letter do the talking."

"Well thanks for the letter Quil, I guess that means you have more letters to deliver?"

"Yes, I'm behind schedule as is. Could you please start going near our postboxes again? It would make things exceptionally easier instead of having to find you all the time."

Link laughed, "You'll have to ask Tetra for that, I don't have any control over where we go."

"Is that so…"

Tetra grumbled again, "I'm right here still you know."

Chuckling, Quil bowed his head to her, his shoulders shaking in amusement. "Of course, Tetra, my apologies." He smiled to Link before looking to the skies. "I must go now. Please, read that letter as soon as possible. If you decide to send a reply, don't hesitate to send it through our postboxes."

Already in the process of opening the letter, Link smiled and ushered him on. 'Fly safe Quil, we'll see you again soon." Tetra nodded in agreement, still grumpily staring at the two of them with a mixture of her own amusement and agitation. In a flurry of feathers, Quil's arms transformed into the Rito wings known for his race and he took flight, allowing the wind to lift him further into the air as he glided away. Link couldn't bring the smile off his face as he watched him fly away and chuckled. "It was good to see him again."

"Yeah whatever, gonna' read that letter, or not?" The look she gave him was one he could read well. It was the one she usually wore when trying to hide her own curiosity.

"I thought you would want to know what was in the chest I pulled up, "He teased, but pulled the letter out either way. Unfolding it, he began scanning it.

Tetra placed her arms on her hips and glowered at him. "Read the damn letter! You can tell me after!" He couldn't help the laugh he let out at her expense and ignored her continued grumps. She could be too cute sometimes…

_To the Esteemed Hero of Winds ,_

_You are cordially invited to the Rito Tribe's Coronation Ceremony for the Prince Elect of our race: Prince Komali. We apologize for the delay as the official date of the Coronation has been re-scheduled. Hero Link, please accept our invitation to join as Komali's honored guest five months from this day exactly. There will be dancing and escorting a date is mandatory._

_We await your rsvp,_

_Dragon Roost Island_

_**P.S: That means you HAVE to bring Tetra as your date! Good luck! ~Komali**_

Tetra stared in confusion as Link's face suddenly bloomed to a brilliant red as he crumbled the letter tightly into a closed fist. She was even more perplexed when he muttered something about stupid Rito and their stupid assumptions and was that Komali's name she just caught? Stepping towards the flustered boy, she quickly tried to grab the letter from him, but was surprised when he held it away from her.

"What's the matter Link, why can't I read it?" She glowered at him, hoping he might give in and hand the letter over, but to no success. Instead, he stuffed the letter into his pants pocket –and she briefly wondered where his tunic had disappeared to- and smiled at her.

"No point, it's just an invitation." He sad happily, shrugging his shoulders as he spoke. "Looks like the Coronation finally has a set date." Tetra grinned then.

"Well that's good, but why can't I read that?"

Link flushed again, "A personal note between me and Komali is all. Say, why don't I show you what was in that chest" She knew he was trying to distract her and a part of her stubbornly wanted to call him out on it and force the truth out of him. However, his eyes were excited and the Coronation starting soon would mean that they too could start back on their adventure again. Her curiosity over that chest was also eating at her. Was it a special artifact, or a lot of rupees?

She shook her head and decided to take the bait. "Yeah, yeah, let's see this chest already."

Link's shoulders sagged in relief. He'd figure out a way to ask her to come with him on a later time. For now, he'd just take her back to the King of Red Lions and find a way to properly dish out the rupees he had found. As he led her back towards his own smaller boat, he patted the letter in his pocket and grinned. It was about time that silly party was finally being held. He was certain Komali was being put through hell for the preparations.

It made him wonder how the Rito Prince was doing, especially with Medli back with them. Hopefully she had been integrating back into Rito society without a problem. Despite his optimism though, he couldn't help, but feel like things weren't going to be so easy for his two Rito friends. Ah well, he'd find more out about them later when he and Tetra made it to the island. For now, he'd just worry about this chest he had to show her…

Meanwhile, far across the sea on Dragon Roost Island, the very same Rito Link currently worried over were indeed neck deep in preparations and it most definitely wasn't easy for them.

_To Be Continued…_

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**This took me forever to find the time to write. If it wasn't for dealing with a new job, and constant distractions, I may have had this up sooner, but now that it's underway, I feel a huge relief off of my shoulders. This is the sequel to my story, "Missing You." Trust me; if you haven't read that yet, I wouldn't suggest reading this one, it might not make sense to you. Though you can try if you really want- I can't really stop you.**

**Either way, please enjoy!**


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